NCAA Wrap Up

A pair of upsets in marquee match-ups highlighted an exciting weekend in NCAA Lacrosse. (Note: All ranking reflect the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll and players in bold are Cannons draftees.)

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#5 Maryland dominated #8 North Carolina in the first quarter, jumping out to a 4-0 lead, but it was all down hill from there for the Terps. Maryland scored four goals in the first nine minutes before UNC called a time out that may have changed the game. The Tar Heels came out a different team and outscored the Terps 11-2 over the next 51 minutes to pick up the upset on the road.

UNC was led by fresmen Nicky Galasso, two goals and four assists, and Pat Foster, three goals and one assist, as star attackman Billy Bitter struggled once again and was held off the score sheet. 14 of UNC's 19 points were scored by first year players. Sophomore goalie Steve Rastivo allowed four goals on the first five shots he faced but recovered well and made 13 saves on the day.

Senior attackman Greg Catalino was one of the few bright spots for the Terps as he scored three of Maryland’s six goals. The Terps entered the game with one of the nation’s best defenses but couldn’t keep UNC from scoring for the final 50 minutes of the contest.

#12 Johns Hopkins jumped out to an 7-3 lead at half time and held on to upset #2 Virginia, 12-11. Hopkins surprised everyone when they lead 4-0 after the first quarter and held their biggest lead of the day at 8-3 early in the third quarter. UVA then went on a 7-1 run to take a 10-9 lead with nine minutes to play. However, Hopkins recovered well, ending the game on a 3-1 run as senior Chris Boland scored the game winner with 1:39 left in the game.

Going into the game, Hopkins boasted the nation’s best defense and a corps of young stars while UVA and the nation’s best attack was led by a group of juniors and seniors. Hopkins’ kids played well, frustrating the Cavaliers' prolific offense in the first half. The Blue Jays were led by sophomore goalie Pierce Bassett who made 14 saves on the day. Boland powered the attack for Hopkins, scoring three goals.

When the Cavaliers offense finally got on track, junior attackman Steele Stanwick had three goals and four assists to lead all scorers. The rest of UVA’s offense struggled as only Shamel Bratton and Rob Emery were able to score more than one goal as they each had two.

#4 Duke needed a big second half comeback to defeat unranked Georgetown on Saturday. The Hoyas held a 9-5 lead at half time but couldn’t close out the win. Duke came back with a 9-3 run in the second half to pick up its sixth straight win.

Duke was led by freshman Jordan Wolf as he scored a career high seven points on four goals and three assists. Christian Walsh and Josh Offit each picked up a hat trick for the Blue Devils. Senior Zach Howell scored his 23rd goal of the year to give the Blue Devils their first lead of the game with just over seven minutes to play. Duke pulled away and held on to pick up the 14-12 win.

The Hoyas were led by sophomore Davey Emala, the nation's leading scorer, who picked up four goals and an assist on the day. After a strong first half, the Hoyas struggled at both ends of the field as they couldn’t hold on for the win.

#1 Syracuse needed late game heroics once again as they picked up their third one-goal win in four games and second straight 5-4 victory. On a team led by seven seniors, it was sophomore JoJo Marasco who scored with six seconds to play as the Orange downed Villanova to remain undefeated.

The game was tied 3-3 at half time and remained that way after the third quarter. Senior Jovan Miller gave Syracuse the 4-3 lead on a spectacular individual effort, dodging through several defenders before netting the goal. Kevin Cunningham appeared to send the game to overtime when he tied it up with 57 seconds to play. However, ‘Cuse got possession in the offensive zone and Miller set up behind the goal before moving out front and passing to Marasco for the winner.

Senior goalie John Galloway led the way for the Orange as he made 11 saves on the day. Marasco led Syracuse with two goals while CJ Small had two goals to lead Villanova.